Letters to the Editor, March 24

San Francisco Chronicle

March 23, 2017

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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Tenderloin resident David Drees, 70 after receiving a delivery of his weekend food supplies, sorts through his items. Drees depends on Meals on Wheels for about ninety percent of his meals, as seen on Fri. March 17, 2017., in San Francisco, Ca. Meals on Wheels has been targeted to lose its funding under the Trump budget. less

Tenderloin resident David Drees, 70 after receiving a delivery of his weekend food supplies, sorts through his items. Drees depends on Meals on Wheels for about ninety percent of his meals, as seen on Fri. ... more

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, has faced backlash when he suggested that popular antipoverty and education programs like Meals on Wheels don’t work, during a news conference at the White House.

Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, has faced backlash when he suggested that popular antipoverty and education programs like Meals on Wheels don’t work, during a news conference at the White House.

Photo: AL DRAGO, NYT

Letters to the Editor, March 24

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What distinguishes Oakland from Houston, Los Angeles, Baltimore, St. Louis and Cleveland? All have lost football teams, but only Oakland will lose the same team twice and, while all the other cities have gotten a replacement, I doubt we will ever see another NFL team in Oakland.

That the Raiders are going to Las Vegas is a done deal because the economics go far beyond selling tickets and personal seat licenses. Las Vegas will become a football destination for eight weekends each year as packages for airfare, hotels and tickets are marketed in the Raiders’ opponent city.

Imagine being in Buffalo the second weekend of December and having the chance to travel to Las Vegas to watch the Buffalo Bills, catch a show, spend some money on your favorite NFL jersey and, oh yes, do a little gambling. The NFL owners know this and are just waiting to take their cut of the Las Vegas pie. The price they will pay is having to see Mark Davis in the owner’s box dressed as an Elvis impersonator! Mayor Libby Schaaf’s smokescreen of protecting our tax dollars while she is really protecting her political future is just an example of “fool me once.”

Edward Kersh, Oakland

A callous objective

Regarding “Donation surge” (News of the Day, March 19): As we witness Meals on Wheels’ dramatic surge in donations, President Trump’s callous budgetary objective to end subsidies for many nongovernmental programs serving compelling social needs is having a salutary effect (doubtless unintended).

It’s rallying massive public support for said programs in the form of charitable donations, which, being tax deductible, might well cost the government more in lost tax revenue than would retention of the subsidies in question.

Because the city insists on enabling illegal drug use, the addict population here has exploded, not just around the main library but throughout the city.

Additionally, the epidemic of car break-ins is a direct result of this policy, as addicts steal to feed their habit. San Francisco residents should not have to share their libraries or their streets with criminal addicts because of misguided city policy.

Mark Jerome, San Francisco

Satisfying burger

Regarding “New Oakland plant to grow the ‘veggie burger that bleeds’ ” (March 23): I’ve been a vegetarian for three decades and vegan for the last year and a half, so I can attest to the evolution from the bland, brown pucks of yesteryear to the succulent successor that is the Impossible Burger.

I traveled an hour from Long Beach to take my first satisfying bite at Crossroads Kitchen and brought a committed carnivore with me. Let me assure you, both sets of eyeballs rolled back in their respective heads with delight! The Impossible Burger is the game changer that will convince meat eaters that plant-based meats are a tasty and viable option to their beloved burger. This is a huge step forward for animal welfare, the environment and battling climate change and, yes, I would like fries with that!

Joyce de Brevannes, Long Beach

Fuzzy definition

Regarding “‘Fearless Girl’ stands up to old thinking” (March 22): Elyse DeFranco is not the first person to co-opt a group by redefining its purpose. For an older feminist such as myself, feminism means the support of equal opportunities and treatment for women.

Feminism is about women, not environmentalism, not socialism, not capitalism, or any other “ism,” for that matter. One needn’t be a feminist in order to support the Lakota Sioux’s opposition to the pipeline that might foul their water; one needn’t support the Lakota Siuox’s struggle in order to be a feminist.

It’s true and very often that people who identify as feminists are progressives, but political alliance is not a prerequisite for wanting to improve the economic, social and legal position of women. Once someone like DeFranco states such a fuzzy definition of feminism, it loses its focus and meaning: the advancement of women to full equality.

Barbara Landy, Larkspur

Imperiled budget

Regarding “President’s budget is not what you think” (March 23): President Trump’s proposed budget may undergo many revisions before it is passed by Congress, but it clearly shows what his priorities are. To slash the budgets of the Environmental Protection Agency and National Institute of Health while greatly increasing military spending only benefits defense contractors.

Meanwhile, our clean air and water are imperiled and important medical research is delayed. Andrew Malcolm’s editorial should have been titled “President’s budget is not what you think — it’s worse.”